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Govt OKs Rp 14T east Palapa Ring network concession
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A technician from telecommunications operator PT Indosat carries out maintenance work at one of the company’s base transceiver stations (BTS) in Jakarta. Local telecommunication company Smartfren has rolled out its Long-Term Evolution (4G LTE) network to cover 85 cities throughout the country to increase high-speed internet usage. (JP/Ricky Yudhistira)
P
resident Joko "Jokowi" Widodo witnessed the signing of an agreement between the Communications and Information Technology Ministry and a consortium on the eastern part of the ambitious Palapa Ring I optic-fiber network project on Thursday.
A consortium comprising Moratelindo, IBS and Smart Telecom will be responsible for the development of the eastern part connecting East Nusa Tenggara, Maluku, West Papua and Papua, which will span 8,454 kilometers and be worth Rp 14 trillion (US$1.04 billion).
Earlier, the Communications and Information Ministry signed two contracts for the western and central networks. The western network, which will be 1,980 km long and valued at Rp 3.4 trillion, will cover Riau, Riau Islands and Natuna. The central network stretching 2,647 km and worth Rp 1.4 trillion will be handled by the Pandawa Lima consortium, covering Kalimantan, Sulawesi and North Maluku.
On the same occasion, the financial closure for the central network was also signed, following the concession agreement between the government and Len Telekomunikasi Indonesia in March. With the financial agreement, construction of the central network will soon begin and is expected to be completed in 2019.
"The western network is in the middle of construction, the central network's financial closure has just been completed and today we have signed the eastern package," Communications and Information Technology Minister Rudiantara said.
During the signing ceremony, Jokowi asserted that the project was crucial to connecting the entire country with high-speed internet services. The project is also expected to support the digital economy in the country, the value of which is expected to reach $130 billion by 2020. (dmr)
